Police, community group dispute arrest at sports complex

The Center for People of All Races – a local group grounded in the Latino community with the mission to build unity across racial and economic sectors – claims Tukwila police used excessive force against a group of innocent men following a brawl at a local soccer game.

Our television news partner, KOMO/4, which reported those details has more on the story here:

Here is the full Tukwila police statement from Officer Mike Murphy:

At 2:00 PM on Sunday, September 27, 2009, security staff at Starfire Sports called 911 to report a physical fight involving 30 subjects on a soccer field. Another initial report indicated there was one person injured from an attack that was lying on the field.

When officers arrived, they found a large crowd gathered and people still in heated arguments. Officers’ first priority was to get to the injured party and make the scene safe to avoid any further injuries. While securing the scene, officers were closed on by groups of angry individuals. Officers on the scene were concerned for their safety and asked for help from adjoining police agencies. In the course of securing the scene, two people were arrested for disorderly conduct. Neither of these people cooperated with police and officers were forced to remove them. The scene was secured and the hostile individuals were removed from the facility. Tukwila Fire treated the man injured in the initial attack for minor injuries. No other injuries were reported by anyone involved in this incident.

It has come to our attention that a complaint will be filed about the conduct of officers during this incident. The Tukwila Police Department has not received a written or verbal complaint about this incident. However, an investigation of the incident is being initiated.